The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) strongly condemns the interrogation, surveillance and intimidation of Uyghur-Australians by the Chinese authorities during their visit to East Turkistan.
In its latest research, Human Rights Watch interviewed Uyghurs who are Australian citizens and permanent residents who recently traveled to East Turkistan. The interviewees testified they were unable to visit their families freely in East Turkistan, as the Chinese government only allows restricted visits under heavy surveillance. The Chinese government subjects Uyghur-Australians to a strict vetting process and background checks before even such visits are allowed. For this reason, many Uyghur-Australians can not visit their family and their only way of communication is calls monitored by the Chinese government.
Three Uyghur-Australians who managed to visit East Turkistan stated that they have been placed in a hotel designated by the government and they were kept under heavy surveillance and required to report their activities on a daily basis to the authorities. Another Uyghur Australian reported that he was interrogated more than twelve times, with one of the interrogation lasting more than seven hours and he was asked to provide the addresses and phone numbers of Uyghur activists in Australia. Upon stating that he does not have this information, the authorities pressured him into monitoring the activists and taking their photos during events in Australia.
The repression and intimidation of the Uyghur Australians are extremely concerning especially with the entry into force of Article 63 of China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress on 1 July 2026, which provides that organisations and individuals outside China who engage in activities directed against China that “undermine ethnic unity and progress or create ethnic division” may be held legally liable under Chinese law. Particularly, using intimidation tactics to pressure Uyghur Australians into giving out information of the Uyghur activists in Australia and forcing them to spy on their activities is a severe violation of basic human rights. The harassment and repression tactics employed by the Chinese government puts Uyghur Australians, Uyghur activists outside China and their families at risk, as well as creates a chilling effect on the Uyghur advocacy activities. This method of harassment is not applied to Uyghur Australians only. The Chinese government systematically prevents families from staying in contact through intimidation, surveillance and restrictions to isolate Uyghurs, suppress advocacy efforts abroad and inflict psychological suffering, as a part of its transnational repression strategy. In addition, the Chinese government threatens Uyghurs abroad with their family members in China to force them into reporting the activities of the diaspora. The harassment the Uyghur Australians experienced is not an isolated incident, but an example of a pattern that can be seen in Uyghur communities all over the world, where the Chinese government employs transnational repression tactics for espionage and repression of Uyghur advocacy abroad.
We therefore respectfully call on the government of Australia to take the necessary measures to protect the Uyghurs in Australia from the transnational repression of China and ensure that the advocacy work of Uyghur activists continues without fear of repercussions.
